Webinar: Modern Studies Crime and Justice Conference by GWC Plus

Modern Studies Crime and Justice Conference

About

At this year's conference we will be hearing from 5 speakers from different areas of Crime and Justice. The speakers will be Trauma Aware Lawyers, David Mackie, a former Sheriff, Lindsey Miller, who heads Scotland's Serious and Organised Crime taskforce, Linda Bendle from Community Justice Scotland and Rachael Moss, who monitors and evaluates the Scottish Governments Restorative Justice Action Plan.

Speakers will be fielding questions once they have spoken.

Agenda

9.15am Webinar waiting room opens
9.30am Welcome and Housekeeping
9.45am Keynote Speaker: David Mackie, Former Advocate and Sheriff
10.45am Break
11.00am 'Restorative Justice in Scotland', Rachael Moss, Restorative Justice Officer, Community Justice Scotland
12.00pm Linda Bendle, Operations Manager, Heavy Sound CIC
12.45pm Break for lunch
1.30pm 'The Role of the Prosecutor in Problem Solving Justice', Lindsey Millar, Head of Serious and Organised Crime Taskforce
2.30pm Keynote Speakers: Trauma Aware Lawyers
3.35pm Close of conference

Presenters

James Docherty

Trauma Aware Lawyers

James is a development officer within the Violence Reduction Unit. James works across various VRU projects supporting development and innovation. He also co-created multi award winning VRU project Street & Arrow which supports people seeking to re-create their lives. James is also a leading campaigner with ACE Aware Nation advocating strongly for change and awareness in how we address the hidden cost of untreated trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) in our society. Previously he has worked with a leading Children’s charity on diversion programmes with young people on the cusp of organised crime. James has both professional and personal experience of navigating the care and justice system. He is also an advisor to Community Justice Scotland.

Kirsty Giles

Trauma Aware Lawyers

Kirsty is passionate about people. A Psychotherapist specialising in children and young people, a trainer and a Project Manager working across Scotland to reduce violence within the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit (SVRU). Kirsty is also a member of the Trauma-Aware Law team who work to improve the justice system for both the staff and the clients involved and she is a Mentor for the ‘Inspiring Woman in Leadership’ (IWIL) project in Scotland.

Kirsty has a keen interest in social justice, child development, trauma and resilience. Working with people to find their strengths and build on them is key to her work and she takes a strength-based approach to any work she undertakes. Kirsty loves travelling around the world meeting new people and experiencing new cultures, she enjoys being an Auntie, outdoor adventures and forgetting the time with a good book.

Iain Smith

Trauma Aware Lawyers

Iain is a Criminal Defence Lawyer and Partner at Keegan Smith, Livngston. He has 25 years experience in criminal defence. Over the past 3 years Iain has changed how he practises law after being made aware of the terrible biological impact of childhood trauma. He was voted Scottish Lawyer of the Year in 2020 & his firm are shortlisted for the Herald Criminal Law Firm of the Year to be decided in November. He is a co-founder of the Trauma Aware Law team.

Malcolm Paul

Heavy Sound CIC

Tony Bone

Trauma Aware Lawyers

George Sutherland

Heavy Sound CIC

David Mackie

Former Solicitor, Advocate and Sheriff

David Mackie is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh and was in private practice as a
Solicitor and an Advocate for some 25 years before being appointed a Sheriff in 2001. For 15
years until his retirement from the Bench in 2019 he sat as the resident Sheriff in Alloa
Sheriff Court. Through his work as a Sheriff and with charities supporting disadvantaged and
marginalised young people, he developed a belief in the power of redemption and applied
compassion and understanding of both the victims and perpetrators of crime to his personal
judicial practice. Retirement has given him the opportunity of making a greater commitment
to charity work and to contribute, where he can, to the continued development of smarter
approaches to justice.

Rachael Moss

Restorative Justice Officer, Community Justice Scotland

Rachael has a degree in Psychology and an MSc in Forensic Psychology. She spent many years working in a variety of third sector settings, including residential, homelessness, prison throughcare and outreach. More recently, she worked in criminal justice social work partnership, supporting women involved in the justice system. Rachael later moved into a performance related role, focussing on service improvement, across a variety of justice partnership services. She was also involved in coordinating peer led services, ensuring people with lived experience are represented in the evaluation and development of justice services.

Rachael’s role involves monitoring and evaluating the Scottish Government's Restorative Justice Action Plan. She works with a variety of stakeholders to support the delivery of the action plan, and is focussing primarily on the development of adult services. Rachael will work in partnership with the Children’s and Young People’s Centre for Youth Justice, to ensure a consistent model is sought across adult and youth services.

Linda Bendle

Operations Manager, Heavy Sound CIC

Linda Bendle is Operations Manager for Heavy Sound CIC, and is also on the Community Justice Scotland Board, Families Outside Board and Shelter Scotland Board. She has direct experience of how custodial sentences work and do not work (and could be made better) and strong views on how release and reintegration into the community can be improved, with the ultimate aim of preventing and reducing offending.

Lindsey Miller

Serious and Organised Crime Taskforce

Lindsey Miller joined the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) in 1994. She was appointed Deputy Crown Agent in 2016.

She has held a number of operational and policy roles including responsibility for matters such as victims, vulnerable witnesses and sexual offences, as well as serious and organised crime and counter-terrorism.

She has also worked as secretary to Sir Anthony Campbell's Inquiry into Crown Decision-Making in the Case of the Murder of Surjit Singh Chhokar, and was tasked by the Lord Advocate with preparing recommendations about the investigation of all sudden and unexplained deaths in Scotland and military deaths abroad. This led to the establishment of the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit (SFIU).

For a number of years she had strategic responsibility in Scotland for the Disrupt Strand of the Serious and Organised Crime Taskforce and has a particular interest in community experiences, specifically those of children and young people, of organised crime.

In October 2021 she was appointed by the Lord President to serve a 5 year term on the Scottish Sentencing Council.

Melissa Rutherford

Trauma Aware Lawyers

Melissa is a director at Rutherford Sheridan Solicitors and Criminal Advocacy and Professional Ethics tutor at Strathclyde University. She specialises in criminal defence and immigration. Melissa has experience of family law, along with representing clients at children's referral proceedings, particularly representing children. She is an advocate of being trauma aware an co-founder of Trauma Aware Law and attempting to change attitudes to Aces and trauma in the legal system. Melissa is a trustee with Indigo Childcare Charity that that seeks to provide a better start to Scotland’s children; a mentor at iWiL, a mentorship programme for young women who aspire to be future leaders; and also on the Advisory Panel at Stirling University Law School. She was a finalist for Solicitor of the Year in Scotland in 2021.